Florence Temko; origami expert was teacher, author

Florence Temko had a knack for transforming simple squares of paper into charming creations and works of art ranging from boxes and flowers to roosters and penguins. She could sculpt a bird from a single piece of paper while chatting with friends or craft a miniature bow tie out of a dollar bill.

A native of England, she was a war bride when she arrived in the United States shortly after World War II. She was a mother and homemaker in the 1950s when she was introduced to the art of paper folding. In the decades that followed, she became an artist, teacher and author, sharing her passion for origami and promoting the art form throughout the world.

She appeared on television shows, wrote books, and demonstrated and taught origami at schools, libraries and museums. She was instrumental in developing the Mingei International Museum’s 2003 origami exhibit.

Mrs. Temko died of heart failure Nov. 12 in La Jolla. She was 88.

“She was a master at origami,” said longtime friend Martha Longenecker, founder and former director of the Mingei museum. “She was imaginative and creative and had a passion for life and for this media. She was a person of integrity and intelligence. She was giving and generous; she wanted to share and teach.”

Mrs. Temko donated a 600-volume library of art books to the museum in 1985. The collection, believed to be the most extensive of its kind, emphasizes origami, paper cutting and paper sculpture. “She gave this tremendous gift to us when we were a little museum,” Longenecker said.

Friends and family members said Mrs. Temko nearly always had paper in her hands, whether she was visiting with friends or in a doctor’s waiting room.

“That was her way of connecting with people,” friend Cath DeStefano said. “She would fold them a crane and give it to them as a gift.”

While origami was her passion, Mrs. Temko also enjoyed reading, swimming and other crafts. “She was interested in the world,” DeStefano said. “When I met her she was 68, and she was on her second computer. Nobody I knew that age was into computers at that time. She always stayed current.”

Stephen Temko said his mother particularly enjoyed teaching origami to schoolchildren and getting them interested in the art form. In the 1960s, she began writing books on origami and other crafts. Her works included “Origami Magic,” “Paper Pandas and Jumping Frogs” and “Folk Crafts for World Friendship.”

Florence Maria Temko was born Oct. 21, 1921, in London to Erich and Erna Marx. She attended Wycombe Abbey School, St. George’s Business College and the London School of Economics, but her studies were interrupted by war. She met U.S. Army Sgt. Leonard Temko, and they married in 1945. The couple settled in New Jersey in 1946 and had three children.

During her years in New Jersey, she became friends with Lillian Oppenheimer, who shared her interest in crafts and introduced her to the art of paper folding. In the 1960s and ’70s, Mrs. Temko appeared as a guest on “The Steve Allen Show” and on several other TV programs in the United States, England, Canada and Japan.

The Temkos divorced in 1968, and Mrs. Temko married Henry Petzel in 1969. The couple moved in 1982 to San Diego, where Mrs. Temko continued spreading the joys of origami through her demonstrations and books. She and Petzel divorced in the late 1990s.

She was a founder of Origami USA and a member of the Authors Guild, British Origami Society and Origami San Diego.

As a consultant to the Mingei, Mrs. Temko brought the vision for the Origami Masterworks exhibit, which was believed to be the first of its kind at a U.S. art museum. The exhibit featured nearly 200 objects by 42 paper folders from around the world.

Mrs. Temko is survived by her children, Joan of San Francisco and twins Stephen of Rancho Santa Fe and Ronald of Encinitas; a brother, Theo Marx of London; and eight grandchildren.

A memorial will be held at

2 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Mingei museum in Balboa Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Origami USA or the Mingei International Museum.